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The primary function of central banks isn’t managing inflation and employment, it is acting as a lender of last resort. In this way, central banks provide
by hayst4ck 4y ago
The primary function of central banks isn’t managing
inflation and employment, it is acting as a lender of
last resort. In this way, central banks provide the
bedrock for the banking system. The Fed’s ability to
perform this role expanded during the Global Financial
Crisis. They created many different types of lending
facilities to provide liquidity to banks, and many
former broker-dealers (like Morgan Stanley and Goldman
Sachs) became bank holding companies so that they could
access them.
Am I crazy or was there an entire section that said "this isn't a crisis because the fed is happy to give banks that make poor investment decisions taxpayer money?"
Doesn't this say that when a bank makes a poor investment, they can borrow from the taxpayer so they don't have to realize their loss?
- fells 4y agoThe fed doesn't have access to taxpayer money.
- horns4lyfe 4y agoThey absolutely do. They print money, and the resulting inflation is an indirect tax; the glory of MMT.
- hayst4ck 4y agoDoes that mean that instead of giving taxpayer money, they instead devalue all taxpayer money by inventing new money?
- zx8080 4y agoTrue. There's option to export a newly created inflation to other countries, at least partially. Thus, steal from other countries' citizens and taxpayers.
- mullingitover 4y agoHonestly, it's a good thing. Given how dysfunctional the legislative branch is with fiscal policy I can't imagine a worse idea than putting it in charge of monetary policy as well.
- hayst4ck 4y agoIt turns the fed into the only arm of the government able to levy a new tax. Printing 20% more money doesn't seem materially different than taking 20% of everyone's money. Either way an individual is able to buy 20% less stuff and the government is able to spend 20% of the value of the economy. Except the fed has to answer less to the public than legislators do. We have a non-elected tax authority deceiving the country about the level of tax they are paying through the subterfuge of an overly complex system. I would love to hear how this assessment is wrong (actually, not rhetorically).
- Rury 4y agoIt's not wrong, we have a wall street government. Did you notice at how those most responsible for the 2008 financial crisis, never went to jail... instead they were the advisory board for Obama on financial stuff?
- mullingitover 4y agoIf we want the workers to completely own the means of production, by all means put officials elected by the workers wholly in charge of fiscal and monetary policy. I'm not arguing against it. Just don't half-ass it, let's go all in on central planning.
- stephen_g 4y agoThe whole “devalues other money” thing is the ‘quantity theory of money’ which has never really been observable as true in normal economies - only at the very extremes (but other factors play in - all in all velocity of money is more important).
- xiphias2 4y agoIt was designed to do that. The creature from Jekyll Island by G. Edward Griffin is a book that describes the creation of the FED, how it was done in secret.
- olalonde 4y agoIt amuses me when people sometimes blame capitalism for bank failures, considering that banks are essentially governmental institutions with extra-steps. They're literally encouraged to engage in practices, such as fractional-reserve banking, which would be considered fraudulent or a scam in any other context. And to add insult to injury, they get bailed out when they lose their risky bets.